Texas housing market captures more gains

Housing inventory in Texas is at an all-time low, which has sent prices surging.

Statewide, the median price for a single-family home was $177,100 during the third quarter, up 10 percent from the previous year, according to the Texas Quarterly Housing Report. Sales during the most recent quarter were up 19 percent from a year ago.

In the Houston area, home sales were up 20 percent. The volume was about the same in the second quarter, showing how activity kept up even during the typically slower fall season, the Texas Association of Realtors’ report said.

The median price for a home in Houston was $185,000 for the quarter, up 12 percent from the same period last year. Inventory was down 36 percent to 3.2 months. Here’s more on the local market.

Inventory here and statewide has fallen to historically low levels.

“To have only four months of inventory in a market as large as Texas is remarkable,” economist Jim Gaines said in a statement. “Of the 47 markets included in the report, 10 have less than three months of inventory and that includes several large markets, such as Austin and Dallas.”

Gaines is with the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, which analyzes the housing data used in the report.